Shrouded in myth and lore, the birthstone for May isn’t just a beautiful gem: Emeralds are also ornaments of power and politics that have created legends and molded world history.
Prized by Egyptians, Romans, Aztecs, crowned heads of Europe, and today, gem connoisseurs the world over, Emeralds, more than any other precious gemstone have sparked the eternal fires of our collective imagination.
Legends and lore
Spring is a time of growth and rejuvenation. Nothing reflects this more than the intense green shades of an Emerald, May’s birthstone.
Emeralds are regarded by many cultures as a symbol of personal development. It was once thought that Emeralds possessed the power to soothe the soul and sharpen wit.
Some people believe that wearing an Emerald brings wisdom, growth and patience. And as any couple would agree, all of these qualities are essential for lasting love. This may explain why a gift of Emerald is considered symbolic of love and devotion. Emeralds are even believed to change color upon infidelity!
Emeralds have long been thought to possess healing powers. While today we know that Emeralds are not a cure for all medical and psychological problems, many people still use Emeralds to soothe their eyes and bring them good health. In fact, green has long been considered a soothing color and it is no coincidence that the “green room” in theaters and TV studios is supposed to relax a performer after the stress and eyestrain of studio and stage lights.
A truly ancient gemstone, there is archaeological evidence that the Babylonians may have been marketing Emeralds as early as 4000 BC.
The history of Egyptian Emeralds dates back over 4,000 years. Located in Egypt’s eastern desert region, ancient miners braved extreme heat, scorpions and snakes to search for the “green fire.” Interestingly, Greek miners once labored in the Egyptian desert for Alexander the Great.
The ancient mines of Egypt were rediscovered in 1818 by the French explorer Caillaud. Finding the mine with the help of the Egyptian government, he noted that Emeralds were probably mined there long after the kings and queens of Egypt ruled the land.
The Egyptians were known to engrave Emeralds with the symbol for foliage to represent eternal youth, burying these jewels with their dead.
Emeralds were said to be the favorite gem of Cleopatra. She often wore lavish Emerald jewelry and bestowed visiting dignitaries with large Emeralds carved with her likeness when they departed Egypt.
Egyptian Emeralds were first mined some 2,000 years before Cleopatra’s birth. During her reign, Cleopatra claimed these Emerald mines as her own, as well as the world’s oldest source of Peridot, the fog-wrapped desert isle of Zeberget (St. John’s Island). Zeberget Peridot has a uniquely Emerald-like color, due to its high nickel content. This is probably why many of Cleopatra’s “Emeralds” were later found to be Peridot.
The ancient Romans associated Emerald with fertility and rebirth, dedicating it to Venus, their goddess of love and beauty. The Roman historian Pliny the Elder once said of Emeralds, “nothing green is greener,” and recorded that the Roman Emperor Nero, while presiding over gladiatorial fights, wore spectacles made of Emeralds. However, gemologists now believe that this was highly unlikely as the ancient Egyptian Emerald produced crystals of insufficient size and clarity needed for such an instrument. Historians now believe that Fire Beryl™ was probably the gem used.
The legends and lore surrounding Emeralds would not be complete without recounting the infamous stories of the Conquistadors, Hernando Cortés, who started his campaign against the Aztecs in 1519, and Francisco Pizarro, who commenced his military operation against the Incas in 1526. When Hernando Cortés planted the Spanish flag on Aztec soil, he snatched from the defeated Emperor Moctezuma an enormous pyramid shaped Emerald so big it could be seen from 299 feet away!
Just the facts
The green color of Emeralds is unparalleled in the gem kingdom. Its beautiful green color, combined with its rarity, makes Emerald one of the world’s most valuable gemstones. Interestingly, its name comes from the Greek word “smaragdos,” meaning green gem.
Emeralds are a member of the Beryl family of minerals. Minute traces of chromium, vanadium and iron give Emeralds their famous “green fire.” The green crystals grow slowly within metamorphic rocks and are restricted in size by the host rock, making large Emeralds rare and costly.
Unlike other Beryl, Emeralds often contain inclusions and tiny fractures. These are commonly called “jardin,” from the French word for “garden,” because of their resemblance to foliage. For Emeralds, jardin is not looked on as a negative aspect as it would be for some other gem varieties, but instead is considered part of Emerald’s character and can be used to assure the purchaser of a natural gemstone.
Although Emerald is relatively hard and durable, it must be protected from harsh blows because the jardin found within make it susceptible to breaking. The famous “Emerald Cut” was developed specifically for this gem to reduce the amount of pressure exerted during cutting.
Transparent Emeralds are faceted in gem cuts for jewelry, while translucent material is cut and polished into cabochons and beads. Trapiche Emeralds are also cut into cabochons, making exquisite jewelry pieces.
A very small number of Emeralds display asterism and chatoyancy; these too are cut into cabochons.
When buying Emeralds the most important consideration is always color, with clarity and quality of cut playing second fiddle. Nevertheless, the brightness of the gemstone (which is somewhat determined by the cutting and clarity) is also an important factor.
Traditionally, deep green is the most desired color in Emeralds. Paler Emeralds are sometimes called “Green Beryl.”
As Emeralds from different locations can vary slightly in appearance, some of the main sources and varieties are detailed below.
Colombian Emerald
Known for their vivid green color, Colombian Emeralds are usually of exceptional quality. Colombia is by tradition and lore, the finest modern source for Emeralds.
With each comprised of many individual mines, the three historically significant areas of Emerald mining in Colombia are Muzo, Coscuez and Chivor.
Muzo Colombian Emerald
The famed Muzo mines lay 100 miles north of Bogota. Emerald crystals from Muzo tend to have more saturated color than either Coscuez or Chivor. They are considered some of the finest Emerald mines in the world.
Trapiche Emeralds are an extremely unusual, rare, prized form of Emerald only found in the Muzo mining district of Colombia. Star-shaped rays that emanate from its center in a hexagonal pattern characterize these Emeralds. These rays appear much like asterism, but unlike asterism, they are not caused by light reflection from tiny parallel inclusions, but by black carbon impurities that happen to form in the same pattern.
Coscuez Colombian Emerald
The Emerald crystals of Coscuez tend to exhibit a very wide range of colors but unfortunately also tend to be more included than those from Muzo.
Chivor Colombian Emerald
Chivor Emeralds are best known for their bluish cast and generally have fewer inclusions and a lighter color than either Coscuez or Muzo Emeralds. The Chivor mining area is the smallest of the three and is separate from Muzo and Coscuez, which lay adjacent to each other.
Brazilian Emerald
While Colombian Emeralds are known for their vivid green color, Brazilian Emeralds are known for their variety of color, ranging from light green to medium dark blue green.
Emeralds were first discovered in Brazil about 500 years ago after the arrival of the Portuguese. However, it was only in 1963 when the first samples with commercial value were found in Bahia, close to the town of Paraiso du Norte in northern Brazil, effectively wiping out the notion that Brazil had no real “green fire” of its own.
Pakistani Emerald
While an extremely harsh climate prevents the mining of Emerald deposits at higher altitudes, at lower elevations in the Swat Valley of Pakistan lay the Gujar Kili Mine, and the ancient and historically significant Mingora Mine (e.g., Ancient Roman earrings featuring Mingora Emeralds have been discovered). Severe weather conditions restrict operations during winter, making the hand-dug output very limited. The Pakistani government tightly controls the mining of Emeralds from relatively new deposits discovered in 1960 in the Himalayan Mountains.
Siberian Emerald
Siberian Emerald is long prized for its breathtaking crystal clarity, green fire and forest green hues.
According to history, Siberian Emerald was discovered by a Russian peasant, Maxim Stefanovitch Koshevnikov, in 1830 in the roots of a tree that had been felled in a storm on the Tokovoya River near Ekaterinburg in Siberia’s Ural Mountains. Despite this, rumors persist that Russia actually supplied Emeralds long before the Spaniards discovered the famous Colombian Emerald in the late 16th century. These legends even go as far as to suggest that the Scythian Emeralds mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his “Historia Naturalis” came from the Urals.
Rising to fame in the 19th century, the largest and best known source of Siberian Emerald is the Mariinsky (St. Mary’s) Mine. This mine was discovered in 1833 near the village of Malyshevo. The deposits were nationalized after World War I and Emerald mining soon ceased when Malyshevo became a military security zone. Siberian Emeralds almost entirely disappeared; thankfully, Siberian Emerald is now back and we are delighted to offer an amazing selection to Gems TV customers! Siberian Emerald is mined in very rugged terrain - the area is wet, rocky and very mountainous, and less than half a percent of the rough crystals mined are suitable for faceting. As a result, Siberian Emeralds are a “must have” for any true Emerald connoisseur.
Zambian Emerald
Zambian Emeralds are of very high quality. Although Zambia has the world’s second largest Emerald deposit, it is substantially underdeveloped and primarily restricted to artisanal mines near Kagem, Kitwe, Miku and Mufulira in remote northern Zambia. As basic hand tools are mainly used to mine Zambian Emerald, this limits supply, increasing its rarity and value. Zambian Emerald is extracted from talc-magnetite schists Zambian miners call “paidas” (when it’s unaltered) and “chikundula” (when it’s weathered). They call small Emerald crystals that may be indicative of bigger crystals “ubulunga.”
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